Monday, February 29, 2016

Happy Birthdays to
my SISTER CAROLINE! :) And also to 2nd cousins Travis and Leilaand my awesome friend Leda.
Hope they are great!

So first, I am just
about to run out of subject lines so I have switched to spanish. :)

I am sorry this
will be so short but basically this week was full of huge highs and huge lows.
We had a GOLDEN investigator and she said she prayed and felt that she should
stay in the catholic church... we were mind blown!! But then she preceeded to
give 100 excuses on why she wouldnt get baptized even if she knew our church
was true. So it just seemed like she wasnt really willing to act on her answer
even if she got it. It was really sad to see someone so blatantly be so
unwilling, (it doesnt happen here often), but it was such a strong moment to
share our testimonies with her. It strengthened my testimony even more that I
just know that this church is true!! that our message is true. Hermana Shaw and
I truly poured out our hearts and the spirit backed us up so strongly. The Lord
is good.

We have an
investigator named Jeffrey who has almost read all of 1 Nephi and accepted a
baptismal date!! woot woot!

This week was
independance day so hermana shaw and I made smoothies and took pictures...
classic. :)

The Familia Sosa
are doing so good in the church and are just SOLID! It is so fun to see amazing
converts and the positive influence they have. Being a missionary is the
best.

Monday, February 22, 2016

From: Nicole
Schmidt [mailto:nicole.schmidt@myldsmail.net] Sent: 02/22/2016 12:13 PMSubject: It's a great day to be a missionary!

Hola a todos! :)

Happy birthdays to
my aunts Elizabth and Sue. I hope it's great!! :)

AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY
TO MY BABY (NOT SO BABY) SISTER JESSI WHO IS TURNING 15!!! :)

So this week was
like... a week full of un-expectantes! It was a little bit crazy, and a whole
lot of going up to Santo Domingo but it was amazing!

We had a lot of
meetings up in the capital this week and I just love all of our meetings. They
are seriously so spiritual and have taught me so much more on a how to be a
christ-like leader. I love it!

I had the
opportunity to do an exchange with some STLs in the capital as well. President
gave me permission to go into my old area and see a couple of people I helped
there. It was amazing and SUCH a boost and tender mercy. I really liked the
common theme of the day which was ''Finish with honor''. I thought a lot about
that, and I know what everyone was meaning but I couldn't stop thinking, ''I
should finish every single day with honor, not just my mission.'' So that is my
new focus. Finish everyday with honor!

While in that
exchange the sister told me she was struggling with her companion and some of
her responsibilities as STL (names withheld). I started just asking her a lot
of questions to understand and see if she had any ideas herself to resolve
them. She said, ''We should organize our study room as a service for her. I bet
that would help our stress.'' So we spent a good while organizing EVERYTHING. It
was a big project but it was SO cool. The best ideas really do come from the
people we are helping themselves. I felt really strongly that the Lord was
pleased with this result and act of love. It was really wonderful. So
grateful!

We finally found Nayua
and she said, ''I miss coming to church. When I go, I just know that it's true.
I can see it in everyone's faces. It's different than any other church, and I
just know it's true.'' She just needs rides to church so the ward is stepping
in there to help her with that.

Okay so Sabrina is
just golden but has completely disappeared this week!! Which was really
discouraging but we aren't giving up. We have faith that God's timing is the
best timing and whether she gets baptized on Sunday or another date, it won't
matter. We are just here to make progress to that point. :)

Today we were going
to go to some cool caves but we got there and found out it's not open mondays
and we were bummed so we took a bus ride back home but on the way we contacted
a lady on the bus and she was so excited to hear about ''For the strength of
youth'' (i'm currently carrying around one and studying it while I can)
pamplet. And was so excited about eternal families. She accepted to take the
missionary lessons from the elders so we will give them her info. Everything
happens for a reason!

Okay so 2 funny
stories for you:

We were in our Ward
Correlation meeting with our ward mission leader and every thing was fine and
normal and my companion takes a drink of water and then suddenly squeals and
freaks out and I was like, 'WHAT!?!'' And a lizard flies off her shoulder!! I
have to say I think what most shocked me wasn't the suddenness of the squeal,
or even the lizard, it was the fact that my companion kept her water in her mouth
and still managed to scream! haha. That does not happen every day, and it will
be a moment I will not forget.

The second funny
story was that we contacted an old woman in her house and she let us in and
just started crying, telling us about all of her pains and trials. My heart
just broke for her and I wanted to serve her to make her feel better, and I
thought back to another experience I had, had in another area of rubbing lotion
into the hands and feet of an old lady to make her happy. Well we started
rubbing lotion into her hands... and she stretched out her arms wide while we
were doing it and starting yelling and praying at the same time ''Thank you
Lord for sending these teenagers to heal me! I know they have the power and
heal me lord, heal me, heal me!!'' ... she thought we were doing a healing
ritual.... so awkwardly we immediately stopped and I said, ''Sister, i'm sorry,
we don't heal people. But there are men in our church who can give healing
blessings.'' She didn't understand and to this day I think she thinks we gave
her a healing ritual blessing... oh boy. I tried to explain... haha.

Other than that the
work is rolling and new people who are accepting baptismal dates are just
coming out of the woodworks. It's so wonderful and it truly is a great day to
be a missionary!! :)

Monday, February 15, 2016

Oh my goodness this
week was AMAZING! What an incredible way to start off this transfer. My
companion, sister shaw, is just the best and has taught me SO much. :)

So to start off the
transfer right (lol) here's the story to my title. So, on our way home I didn't
realize that our phone was on silent. We were talking and talking and talking
on the bus to La Romana and on the taxi home and in home about everything. Well,
me being not as responsable as I should have with checking the phone, just kept
talking without checking it for (3 hours) a little while. Well... in the middle
of our conversation there was a loud knock on our door. I answer it (in our
PJ's since it was time to start getting ready for bed) and standing there are
our Zone Leaders and our bishop. I was so confused and ridiculously thought
they were there for a house check so the first thing I said was, ''Hey why did
you not call???'' And the bishop said, ''Did you lose your phone or
something??'' I said, ''No...'' and went and grabbed it. Let's just say I will
not be telling any of you how many missed calls we also had from the District
Leader and bishop... but you can know we did have 37 from the Zone Leaders... I
was very embarrassed. Thankfully they took it well, but one of the Zone Leaders
is a new zone leader and I think we about killed the poor guy... first night as
a zone leader and he's already frantically searching for missionaries.

But on a more
serious, responsable, i've been in the mission long enough to know how to be a
missionary kind of side of the things.. The work was rolling this week.
:)

Our most
progressing investigator is Sabrina. She is the woman I mentioned last week
that was just so prepared and accepted a date. Well it's pretty clear that her
husband won't be baptized next week just because he was gone on a work trip for
a week and a half. BUT she is still up for it. She just has to get married,
which we are shooting to set a date with her for that on Saturday (that's
right, this saturday!). During our lesson we taught all of the restoration and
at the end I said, ''Do you believe all that we have shared with you today?''
she teared up and said, ''Yes, I know the church is true.'' And in her closing
prayer she said, ''Thank you Heavenly father for showing me today that the
church is true.'' It was glorious. I know it's true too!!

Hermana Shaw and I
started trying to contact people by serving them. We just kept trying to look
out for people who looked like they needed help. One woman we helped was like,
''I think a church should have standards. And not baptize children. And not
support drinking alcohol. And have to be married legally.'' and we were like...
UM YES.. ours! And she was amazed by all that the church had and accepted the
invitation to be baptized. I think that there is something really special about
serving, and then inviting that brings the spirit really strong!

We had a miracle
this week with our ward. The bishop was really worried about the attendance and
so together we all thought of an idea to give out 3 invitations to each member
to give out to Less actives and non members. The results were huge! We had the
most attendance we've had in MONTHS! It was just cool to see how teamwork
really brings about miracles.

This week I also
had my last big Zone Conference with President Corbitt. (It's when a couple of
zones have a big training meeting/spiritual meeting, it's cool). Hermana
Hinrichsen who is also going home with me, and I, did a musical number of ''Be
Still my Soul'' on the piano and violin. It was a great way to have my last
one! I'm so grateful for little opportunities like that.

Everything is good
here in La romana. We are working hard, sweating lots, smiling tons, and on our
knees like madwoman, running around finding new people and trying out new
techniques, and it's joyous :) I just love it!! There's nothin' better.
:)

Thanks for all of
your love and support. I have NO doubts that this is the perfect church of
Jesus Christ! I know that the Priesthood is a real power that really does bless
our eternities. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and I know that
the true, lasting, joy that we all seek comes from the Savior and his Gospel. I
know Christ lives. I know He will ALWAYS be there for us! I just love Him.

Monday, February 8, 2016

From: Nicole
Schmidt [mailto:nicole.schmidt@myldsmail.net] Sent: 02/08/2016 11:19 AMSubject: Who knew cleaning up cigarettes would be such a spiritual
experience??

Hola a
todos!!

Happy birthday to
Marissa my sister in law! :) I hope it's a great one!

To start off we
found out the next transfer news (I say next to not focus on the fact that it's
my last, but everyone already knows that... haha) and I will be staying in LA
ROMANA! :) And I will be training a new STL-- Hermana Shaw! Okay, so funny
story. My mom had actually talked to Hermana Shaw before her mission and later
on told me about it and said, ''who knows maybe you will train her''. So when
president told me the news for this transfer I told him what my mom said and we
both agreed that she is an inspired lady. :) (although it wasnt the type of
training she thought, she was right on the dot :) )

I just found out
one of my old investigators, Fidel, from my second area got baptized!! The
first time we met him he slammed the door in our face and yelled at us. Little
by little he warmed up and soon he started taking the lessons. He changed
little by little but kept saying ''i'll go to the mormon church every sunday
the rest of my life, but I will never be baptized.'' Isn't it amazing how the
Lord can just work miracles in the hearts of people?? It was a joyous
announcement to hear! :)

So this week was
just FULL of spiritual edifying experiences. The first being with Rafael. I've
written about him and his wife, Rosa, quite a few times and how they were
dropping their smoking addiction. Well, they haven't progressed for a while or
come to church and my companion and I felt that we needed to drop them for a
time to help them decide to act in accordance to their faith (those are some of
the hardest decisions a missionary has to make). Well, we went over to explain
to them the whole situation and we arrived and Rafael just looked awful. He
looked defeated and there were cigarettes EVERYWHERE. I mean, everywhere. On
the ground, in the garden, on the patio... just everywhere. And it reaked of
smoke. My heart literally sank at the sight of it and I just had the strongest
sense of disappointment come over me. I prayed in my mind to know what to say
to Rafael in order to help him and to make sure he knew that even though we
wouldnt be meeting with him for a time, that we still loved and cared for him.

And in that moment,
pure, pure love just FLOODED over me. It was seriously as if, even for a brief
moment, God allowed me to see him how God sees him, and to feel how he feels
for him. My heart broke even more and I just knew without one shadow of a doubt
that he was a beloved son of God. I started teaching him and tears welled in my
eyes and I just could barely muster the words out. Eventually we explained why
we needed to leave for a time and would wait to continue when they came to
church. He seemed very sad, but he was very understanding. We finished the
lesson and as we stood up I had an uneasy feeling come over me like ''I
gotta do more. I gotta do something more for him. I can't just leave like
this.'' Then a huge prompting came to me and it was one of those *well duh*
moments from the spirit:

Clean up the
cigarettes.

So we immediately
acted and we asked for garbage bags in order to clean them all up. We filled a
good about of a bag and as I was cleaning, I looked over at Rafael and he was
just stunned, but beaming, and with tears in his eyes thanked us for the
service. I realized that service really is the best way to help another person
we can't just be like ''Hey your house is dirty, you should fix that'' True
disciples of christ will feel impressed to feel ''Hey their house is dirty,
let's see what I can do about that.'' And although I am not perfect at always
doing that or following those promptings, I'm grateful that God places in my
path person after person to serve and to bless, although I am a very
unprofitable servant. The Lord is so good. I think if we had just left telling
him he needs to stop smoking without doing much, it would have just been that,
empty words and a bitter end. But I could tell it really, really touched Rafael
because he promised he would find a way to get to church in the next couple of
weeks- which he has never done. I really think it will happen.

Other than that, we
are teaching a new family and the mom has come to church like 5 times but is
never home but we finally caught her! We taught her and the first lesson she
said, ''So how can I be baptized?? Do I have to become a miamaid and laurel or
whatever they were saying about those girls in church today??'' (she's in her 40s
haha) and we explained that she didn't and that the process is easy and we gave
her a date right then and there for the 27th this month and she said, ''I
really want to. But I want to with my husband and daughter.'' And we asked if
she had the faith to see that miracle and she said yes. The spirit was so
strong and I can just feel that, that entire family will be baptized so soon!!
The Lord truly does prepare his elect.

I love you all and
can not express with words how grateful I am for all of your support. Every
day, and in every way, my mission has become the best, and even better, and
even better, experience of my entire life. And I couldn't do it without the
support I receive from all of you. I testify that this is the completely true
church of the Lord!! It is his kingdom. Oh, it truly is ''wonderful, wonderful
to me.'' I can feel it every day, that angels are around us and guiding us and
this is God's mighty work and his mighty truth. I testify that the gospel binds
a family together in unity and happiness, in this life and for the eternity. I
know that God loves us and LIVES. He will never leave us alone. He truly does
see us as how we can become, perfect, glorified beings like he is. I just know
it. I know it, I know it, I know it!

Monday, February 1, 2016

From: Nicole
Schmidt [mailto:nicole.schmidt@myldsmail.net] Sent: 02/01/2016 10:47 AMSubject: Can I just say, that I am SO happy?! :)

Hola a todos!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
MADDI GIRL!! 4 YEARS OLD!!!! I can't believe it. :)

So i'm sorry for
the lack of updates the last 2 weeks. My companion got really sick and so there
wasn't really much to update on. But, this week we got everything solved.
President wanted us to stay in the capital to see some good doctors up there,
and they found out what it was and now she has the right medicine and is doing
a lot better.

But while in the
capital we had many adventures.

1: I was the office
secretary for a day. That's right. Sister Schmidt, Head Secretary, for 7 hours.
(That's the least cool thing ever, but I felt cool answering the phone and
saying ''Misión Santo Domingo Este'' Over and over again. :) )

2. Leadership
Counsel. Our leadership counsel was amazing this month!! We talked a lot about
balancing between working hard and being excited for the achievements we have,
and being humble. It was a great talk. The sum of it was that we need to
recognize that we are children of God, who have the potencial to become like
him, and that means hard work. But as children of God we can't do it without
Him, as any child needs his father to learn. I always say, ''Humility isn't
thinking we are nothing. It's realizing that we can become nothing without
God.'' And I really believe that.

3. Hotel House for
3 nights. That's right. Hot showers. Living the good life.

4. The tender
mercies of the temple. Before the Elders picked us up to take us to the bus
stop to La Romana again, we felt that we should stop quick by the temple store.
Well while we were waiting at the temple, I heard an ''Hermana Schmidt!!'' And
I saw one of the sister
missionaries I went on appointments with before my mission (she served in the
Provo Utah mission) running towards me. She's dominican and we met through the
davis family who had introduced us (shout out to them). I went out with them a
lot of times before my mission so it was a huge tender mercy to see her at the
temple. That day I was feeling really overwhelmed with trying to help the
sisters in La Romana, trying to help my companion with her help, worrying about
my investigators from not working very much... I was just on stress overload.
But seeing her and having her talk to me about how much the mission meant to
her, just spoke so much peace to my mind. The Lord is just so good and truly
puts the people that we need to see in our paths!!

5. After we got
home, I was still trying to sort out my feelings and stress and turn it all
over to the Lord when I had two thoughts. 1. Study Esther. 2. Study from the
Topical guide ''cheer''.

I loved the story
of Esther and how Mordecai says, ''Who knoweth if thou hast come to the kindgom
as such a time as this??'' Basically, I take that as: 'the Lord has placed you
in this spot during a time of huge opposition for a REASON.' I felt so, so
strongly from the spirit that I am where I am supposed to be and when I'm
supposed to be there. Comfort rushed over me and I just knew that the Lord is
aware of me and that he will sustain and inspire me every step of the
way.

With the word
''cheer'' I found and read DyC 112:4-14. I felt so strongly that we as his
representatives are called to fight, morning after morning, and day after day,
for his good cause. To raise our voices loud and proud and put our heads high
because we are on the BEST team ever--- the Lord's! And we have every single
reason in the world to be cheerful, and happy, because He Lives, and He is there
with us every step of the way. When we feel down, we have to remember that the
Lord WILL lift us. He is the Living God, The Prince of Peace!! I know that He
lives. I know it, I know it, I know it.